It’s a good deal if you can get it: Some North County water customers are paying less for their water than it’s worth.

The Vallecitos Water District – which provides water to 97,000 people in and around San Marcos – has kept rates so low it’s now selling water at a loss.

The shenanigans within the small district offer a window into the lengths some California water officials will go to avoid raising rates.

In Vallecitos, the low rates have become an issue in this fall’s water board elections.